Man and woman arrested in Lisa Thompson murder inquiry

Gardaí investigating the murder of mother-of-two Lisa Thompson (52) in her Dublin home two months ago have made the first arrests in the case. Two people, a man and a woman, have been detained and are being questioned in separate Garda stations in Dublin.

The suspects, both in their 30s, were arrested on Monday for questioning about the murder of Ms Thompson at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11. She met a violent death and while her remains were discovered on Tuesday, May 10th, gardaí believe she had been dead for a number of days.

The two suspects were being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for them to be questioned about offences for up to 24 hours without charge.

Gardaí have been examining the victim’s lifestyle in the months before she was murdered, which they believe had become chaotic. Ms Thompson, who lived alone, had been violently attacked, suffering a large number of stab wounds.

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Investigators believe she had befriended a number of people dealing in tablets sold on the illicit drugs market, and are trying to establish if her murder was in any way linked to that trade, even indirectly.

Gardaí believe a street level drugs gang had stored drugs in Ms Thompson’s house and that her murder, which appears to have been spur of the moment, may have occurred in the context of a dispute over the drugs.

The man being questioned is known to gardaí and has had a number of addresses in north Dublin. The woman being held is closely associated with the arrested man.

Ms Thompson’s home underwent a thorough examination by the Garda Technical Bureau and significant evidence was yielded which gardaí hope will link a suspect to the murder. Ms Thompson had been stabbed a number of times and gardaí believed from the outset that the apparent unplanned nature of her killing would result in forensic evidence being found at the scene. CCTV footage recorded in the Ballymun area was also gathered and has been analysed, while the data from Ms Thompson’s phone has been downloaded.

It is understood that data is a key part of the evidence as it shows who she was last in touch with and some of the pressures she was under around the time of her murder.

A concerned neighbour raised the alarm by calling 999, seeking an ambulance, just after 3pm on the day Ms Thompson’s remains were found. When paramedics arrived at the house they called gardaí and the death was discovered. Ms Thompson’s children were not living at the house with their mother.

The dead woman was originally from Ballymun, had gone to school there and previously held a position in youth work in the area, though she was not in that role at the time of her murder.

Her funeral notice described her as the “beloved mother” of Kyle and Brook and “loving daughter” of Bernadette. She is also survived by her sister and brother, Ashley and Stefan, and the notice said she would be “sadly missed and remembered with love” by all of her family and friends.